New Law in NY Will Destroy Jobs For Low-Income Earners [VIDEO]

Governor Andrew Cuomo is proud of his work, though it will give his state a faster growing wage gap.

A growing wage gap is an issue often raised by Democrats, but they are the ones doing the most to worsen it.

I’m referring to the new minimum wage hike.

No pretense of neutrality in this video! “It’s a good day to be a New Yorker.” Newser is also shamelessly partisan: “Thursday was a great day for low-wage workers on both coasts.” The west coast is mentioned in reference to California. Now, New York has joined the rush to self-inflicted financial damage.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and state legislative leaders announced on Thursday that they had reached a budget agreement that would raise the minimum wage in New York City to $15 by the end of 2018, but initiate slower increases elsewhere, even in the city’s wealthy suburbs.

For Mr. Cuomo, the wage agreement came with clear concessions, as some lawmakers outside the city won a softer phase-in period. Long Island and Westchester County will not reach a $15 wage for nearly six years; areas north of Westchester are assured only of reaching $12.50 by 2021.

[…]

With the minimum wage deal and another hard-fought measure — one that would eventually provide employees across the state 12 weeks of paid time off to care for newborns or sick relatives and for families dealing with military deployments — the governor was able to claim victory on two signature issues.

Is this good news? It is good news for some New Yorkers who are valuable enough and in businesses big enough to afford these benefits. It is bad news for other New Yorkers who will be unemployed and moved to the growing welfare rolls thanks to this minimum wage hike.

Of course, it is not going to be as good as people expect, even for those who keep their jobs. Prices will also rise. See what I wrote on California’s stupid law for more argumentation.

New York’s minimum wage was already too high at $9 an hour. But if an employer could afford to hire someone at that level, they had a chance to gain experience and skills to add value to their labor. They could incrementally move up higher.

Now there are no increments. They have been prohibited by law. Likewise, parents who desperately need income will have less opportunity so that a few other parents can get leave to take care of their children. The growing income gap will only grow faster.

Joe Scudder is the "nom de plume" (or "nom de guerre") of a fifty-ish-year-old writer and stroke survivor. He lives in St Louis with his wife and still-at-home children. He has been a freelance writer and occasional political activist since the early nineties. He describes his politics as Tolkienesque.